Vacuum cleaner



Oct. 26, 1937. H. T. LANG VACUUM CLEANER Filed Nov. 16, 1935 Inventor: Henry T Larg,

His Attorney Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFF-ICE VACUUM CLEANER Application November 16, 1935, Serial No. 50,216

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners and particularly to hand type vacuum cleaners such as used for cleaning walls, upholstery, and the like.

The object of my invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner having an improved handle construction in which a switch controlling the circuit tohthe cleaner is closed as the handle is gripped. For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig.- 1 is a perspective view 'of a hand type vacuum cleaner embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the handle showing the switch in the open position; Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the handle showing the switch in the closed position; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, l indicates the suction nozzle, 2 indicates a brush secured to the rear edge of the suction nozzle, 3 indicates the cleaner casing, 4 indicates the bag, and 5 indicates the handle of a hand type vacuum cleaner.

The handle 5 is secured to the upper side of the cleaner casing by means of a screw 6 threaded into the front end'of the cleaner casing and by screws 1 threaded through bosses 8 on the handle into the rear end of the cleaner casing. Between the ends of the handle, the handle is spaced from the cleaner casing so that the handle may be gripped'by the operator. On the under side of the handle is a recess 8 within which is secured a switch ill by means of a plate I2 secured to a boss l3 by a screw i4. The switch I is connected in series with one of the line conductors ii which are led in through the rear end of the handle and therefore controls the operation of the cleaner. The switch I0 is provided with an. operating trigger l which is biased to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.2. In this position, the switch opens the circuit in one of the line conductors II and thereby opens the circuit to the cleaner.

For operating the switch It, I have provided.

a lever I 6 which is pivoted in the recess 9 on a stud l1 extending between the side walls of the handle. The lever I6 is of U-shaped section as shown in Fig. 4, the sides of the lever being adjacent the inner walls of the recess 8 Y tion. In this position, the end of the lever 16 engages the cleaner casing 3 so that it is not necessary to provide a separate stop for limiting the downward movement of the lever. Due

to the construction of the operating trigger l5 and the switch ill, the trigger exerts less force on the lever It as the lever is moved from the lowered position in which the switch in is open to the raised position in which the switch is closed. Less force is therefore required to hold the lever ii in the raised position.

In the use of the cleaner, the operator grips the handle of the cleaner and lifts the cleaner to the place at which it is to be used. Due to the arrangement of the lever IS on the under side of the handle, the weight of the cleaner assists in moving. the lever to the raised position. Also, when the cleaner is lifted, the weight of the cleaner assists in holding the lever iii in the raised position. The gripping force required to close the circuit tothe cleaner is therefore decreased and, since very little gripping force is required to hold the lever IS in the raised position, the switch is very easy to operate, and the operator is not conscious of any extra gripping force required to hold the switch closed. When the handle is released by the operator, the lever i6 is moved by the trigger ii to the lowered position, thereby opening the circuit to the cleaner.

In some, cases it is desirable that the circuit to the cleaner remain closed when the handle is not gripped by the operator. For this purpose, I have provided a pin l8 which isslidable in a slot IS in the side wall of the handle. The pin is provided with a button 20 on the outside of the handle which is held against the outside of the handle by a spring washer 2| arranged between the inside of the handle and a washer 22 fixed to the pin. The spring washer 2| provides suflicient friction so that the pin l8 remains in the position to which it is moved. The side wall 23 of the lever I which is adjacent the pin I8 is provided with a depression 24 having a slot 25 at the bottomthereof. When the lever i6 is in the raised position, the end of the pin l8 may be moved into the slot 25 thereby holding the lever in the raised position and keeping the circult to the cleaner closed. The depression 24 is slightly larger than the washer 22 so that the washer 22 slides in the depression. When the lever I6 is in the lower position, a tongue 26 prevents movement of the pin ID to the locking position thereby preventing locking of the lever It in the lowered position. The depression 24 is provided with an opening 21 which permits movement oi the lever it without interference from the locking pin it when the pin is not in the locking position.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. In a hand type electric tool, a handle having a-recess on its under side, a. lever in said recess,

.means for biasing the lever outward in said recess to a position from which it will be moved inward in said recess as the handle is gripped, a switch in said recess controlled by said lever, said lever being movable to a position permitting access to the switch, and means for attaching the handle to the tool, the portion of the handle intermediate its ends being spaced from the tool to button being located in the portion of the handle which is gripped, a slot in the lever into which said pin may be moved to lockthe lever in the raised position, and a member on the lever arranged to engage said pin when the lever is in its lower position for preventing movement of the pin to its locking position.

3. In a hand type electric tool, ahandle therefor, a recess in the under side of the handle; a lever in the recess, means for biasing said lever to a position below the handle from which it will be raised as the handle is gripped, a switch controlled by the lever, a depression in the lever having a slot at the bottom thereof, and a pin slidable in the handle and having a button on the outside of the handle, said pin having a reduced portion adapted to be moved into said slot to lock the lever in the raised position and having an enlarged portion of such size that it is slidable in the depression in-the lever only when the lever is in its raised position whereby movement of the pin to the locking position is-prevented when the lever is .in its lower position.

4. In a hand type electric tool, a handle therefor, a recess on the under side of the handle, a lever in the recess, means for biasing said lever to a position below the handle from which it will be raised as the handle is gripped, a switch controlled by said lever, a slot in the side wall ofthe handle, a pin in said slot having a button on the outside of the handle, a spring washer on the pin inside the handle urging said button against the handle, a depression in the lever having a slot at the bottom into which said pin may be moved to lock the lever in the raised position, said washer being of suoh-size that it is slidable in said depression only when the lever is in the raised position whereby movement of the pin to the locking position is prevented when the lever is in its lower position.

. HENRY T. LANG. 

